Tales of the Adventurers
Tales of the Adventurers is a comic series that ran from October 2010 until December 2013. It starts by wrapping up the plot threads from Johnny Thunder and the Gift of the Nile and Wonders of Buoyancy, then it tells the story of a brand-new adventure in the Bahamas. Comic Details * Release Date: October 21, 2010 * Number of Comics: '''49 * '''Illustrator: Andrew Bermudez * Author: Andrew Bermudez Plot Summary The comics begin three hours after the ending of Johnny Thunder and the Gift of the Nile, where Lord Sinister, Patrick, and a Russian mercenary stumble through the desert, trying to get to the nearest town. As Gregor the mercenary dies, Patrick sends out a distress signal, which is picked up by William "Billy the Kid" Parker's brother John "Six Shots" Parker. He picks them up and takes them back to Aswan. Thirty minutes after the events of Wonders of Buoyancy, Lance invites Samantha Rhodes to the LEGO City Museum to see the treasure that he found, but ends up arguing with Digalot. During the holiday season, the Adventurers look for the north pole and Dr. Kilroy tells about his childhood memories with Prof. Archibald Hale. The following year, 2011, Johnny is alerted to a map that Digalot found in the treasure chest from Wonders of Buoyancy. The map, he says, leads to pirate gold in the Bahamas, and to help the Adventurers find it, he's called up the Deep Sea Salvage Crew (sans Dr. Jeff Fisher). After they meet in the Bahamas, they travel to the Berry Islands, where they dive underwater and discover the first clue in a Spanish Galleon. However, as they return to the surface, they are captured by Lord Sinister's men. They are taken to Lord Sinister's camp on the island, but are freed by Dr. Jeff Fisher, who leads them back to their boat. Both sides race each other to Andros Island, the confirmed resting site of the treasure. On the island, the Adventurers meet Charlie Flagton, a steampunk inventor who offers to help the Adventurers with his Sky Master plane. They accept, as the villains are already ahead in a stolen Jungle Cutter vehicle. They race each other to the central mountain, which eventually results in a mission by the Adventurers to reclaim the map. The Adventurers win the race, but the adventure is far from over. Inside the cave, Captain Ace Speedman informs the rest that the pirate that hid this gold, Captain Ironhook, was notorious for his love of riddles. This culminates in a series of tests to reach the treasure. The villains, on the other hand, crush through the rock with a drilling machine. Inside the treasure room, the only artifact is a tablet stating that Ironhook's real treasure was inside the chest of gold that contained the map, and that all who were consumed with the greed to come this way must now forward all exhibition proceeds to Ironhook's Swiss Bank Account. However, at this time, the villains arrive. This is then followed by the start of a volcanic eruption. Everyone gets out in time to hunt for treasure another day. Development History The earliest version of this comic was developed in 2009 as the comic series Patrick's Adventures. While that series was ultimately cancelled, the potential for a Johnny Thunder-based comic series was still up in the air at this time. The comics began to take their current form in the summer of 2010, as Johnny Thunder and the Gift of the Nile was wrapping up. This comic series was intended as a way to bridge that film with Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients, which was almost done with its pre-production stage at that time. The first comic debuted on October 21, 2010 to much acclaim. Throughout the rest of 2010, a total of six comics were released. However, 2011 was when the comics went on a new path and told a brand-new story. This story ran from January 2011 until December 2013 and formed a vast majority of the comics. For 2014, more comics were planned for the first half of that year, but as other projects began to pile up, mainly for Ten Years of Going Crazy!, these last few comics that would have lead up to the release of Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients were ultimately scrapped, ending the comic series. List of Comics Listed here are all of the comics featured in this series. * Lost in the Desert - Released October 21, 2010 * Facebook SOS - Released November 3, 2010 * Getting A Ride - Released November 15, 2010 * Pirate Treasure - Released November 28, 2010 * At the North Pole - Released December 17, 2010 * Christmas Morning - Released January 2, 2011 * The Adventure Begins - Released January 14, 2011 * Hired Help - Released February 2, 2011 * The Sport Store - Released February 6, 2011 * Arrival in Nassau - Released February 21, 2011 * Meeting Up - Released March 6, 2011 * Sailing On - Released March 27, 2011 * Uninvited Problem - Released May 8, 2011 * Going Crabby - Released May 26, 2011 * The Shipwreck - Released June 29, 2011 * Octopus Hug - Released July 28, 2011 * Shipwreck Escape - Released August 18, 2011 * Rainforest Ramblings - Released October 10, 2011 * Stuck in a Hut - Released November 8, 2011 * Escape from the Camp - Released December 9, 2011 * The Race Begins - Released December 22, 2011 * Romance on the Sea - Released January 14, 2012 * Sam's New Suit - Released January 25, 2012 * The New Henchmen - Released February 4, 2012 * Lance's Awkward Question - Released February 15, 2012 * Into the Jungle - Released March 12, 2012 * Jungle Discovery - Released March 30, 2012 * Steampunk Inventor - Released May 4, 2012 * Outwitted Again! - Released June 9, 2012 * The Sky Master - Released June 30, 2012 * Dr. Fisher's Conversation - Released July 20, 2012 * BOOM! - Released August 2, 2012 * Bad Hair Day - Released September 4, 2012 * Monowheel Ambush - Released October 4, 2012 * Tricked for a Treat - Released October 31, 2012 * Reclaiming the Map - Released December 18, 2012 * End of the Race - Released December 28, 2012 * Scared Silly - Released January 8, 2013 * Bad Flashlight - Released January 29, 2013 * The Mountain Crusher - Released March 5, 2013 * The Legend of Ironhook - Released April 8, 2013 * Trick Door - Released May 12, 2013 * The Maze Challenge - Released June 24, 2013 * X Marks the Spot - Released July 14, 2013 * Slap in the Face - Released August 4, 2013 * Rumbling Belly - Released September 20, 2013 * Volcano Escape - Released October 24, 2013 * Flagton to the Rescue - Released December 19, 2013 * Sinister Escapes - Released December 31, 2013 Tropes Tales of the Adventurers contains examples of the following tropes. * Ace Pilot: The character of Harry Cane. * Adventurer Archaeologist: Just about all of the adventurers are this. * All There in the Manual: How on Earth did that treasure chest that James Digalot digs through get into the LEGO City Museum? The answer is in the film Wonders of Buoyancy, which depicts Lance Spears finding the treasure chest that sets up this adventure. However, the comic depicting the treasure chest does direct the reader to watch Wonders of Buoyancy, so this trope is subverted. * Awesome Aussie: The character of Johnny Thunder. * Bait-and-Switch: The treasure itself. It turns out that the real treasure was the treasure chest that Lance Spears found in Wonders of Buoyancy, as the final treasure room has nothing more than instructions on how to forward all profits from the find to Captain Ironhook's Swiss bank account. * Beneath the Earth: The treasure is located inside of a volcano on Andros Island. * Christmas Special: The comics "At the North Pole" and "Christmas Morning" are this. * Convection Schmonvection: When the volcano erupts, all of the characters are able to escape in a timely manner unharmed. * Cool Boat: The adventurers and Deep Sea Salvage Crew use one to sail around the Bahamas. Also, a small flashback shows off Captain Ironhook's pirate ship. * Early-Bird Cameo: There are actually a few in this comic series in relation to the movies, though they are properly introduced here. They are: ** Dr. Jeff Fisher, who makes his film debut in A Future in the Past. ** Captain Ace Speedman, who makes his film debut in Johnny Thunder and the Wonders Beneath the Waves. ** Charlie Flagton, who also makes his film debut in Johnny Thunder and the Wonders Beneath the Waves. ** Both Captain Vladimir Sugar and Thomas Skint, who make their film debut in Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients. ** In fact, the jungle cutter from Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients made its first appearance in these comics. * The Lava Caves of New York: At the end of the adventure, the characters are forced to escape from the mountain they are inside, because it turns out to be a volcano. The only problem with that is that there are no volcanoes on Andros Island. The nearest volcanoes are further south towards Venezuela. * MacGuffin: Captain Ironhook's Treasure is this. * Pirate: None appear in the comics, but one, Captain Ironhook, hid the treasure that the Adventurers are looking for. * Plot Coupon: Both the treasure chest from Wonders of Buoyancy and the rusty plate from the Spanish galleon are this. * Predators Are Mean: Despite not preying upon humans, an octopus attacks Lance Spears for no other reason than to be mean. * Riddle Me This: In order to reach the treasure, the Adventurers had to solve a series of puzzles left by Captain Ironhook, which are also presented out-of-universe for the readers to solve. Taken to its extreme, the last puzzle before the treasure required readers to solve all of the previous puzzles in order to reach the solution. * Steam Punk: Charlie Flagton is a steam punk inventor that helps the Adventurers on their quest, and also inadvertently helps the villains, who steal one of his creations. * The Trickster: Captain Ironhook is this, as his whole treasure hunt leads the Adventurers to an empty room with instructions on how to forward all profits on exhibitions featuring him to his Swiss bank account. Therefore, he is still pillaging after death. * Welcome to the Caribbean, Mon!: This is where a vast majority of the comics take place, albeit without many of the stereotypes associated with the region. Trivia * This comic series marks the first canon appearances of the characters Captain Vladimir Sugar, Thomas Skint, and Charlie Flagton. * This comic series introduced the canon immigrants Captain Ace Speedman and Dr. Jeff Fisher into the official canon. * The redesigns for many of the Adventurers characters were introduced through these comics. * In the comic BOOM!, Patrick shooting the bazooka backwards is a reference to the animated film The Adventures of Tin Tin, where a similar scenario plays out. * Throughout the comic's run, almost every comic was accompanied by a challenge that usually required interpreting a clue in the drawn environment to help solve the puzzle. They were almost always tied to the main story. * The truth about the treasure, as seen in the comic Slap in the Face, is a reference to a joke in the Pioneer Drama Service play Unwrapped. Gallery Comic 01.jpg|Lost in the Desert Comic 02.jpg|Facebook SOS Comic 03.jpg|Getting a Ride Comic 04.jpg|Pirate Treasure Comic 05.jpg|At the North Pole Comic 06.jpg|Christmas Morning Comic 07.jpg|The Adventure Begins Comic 08.jpg|Hired Help Comic 09.jpg|The Sport Store Comic 10.jpg|Arrival in Nassau Comic 11.jpg|Meeting Up Comic 12.jpg|Sailing On Comic 13.jpg|Uninvited Problem Comic 14.jpg|Going Crabby Comic 15.jpg|The Shipwreck Comic 16.jpg|Octopus Hug Comic 17.jpg|Shipwreck Escape Comic 18.jpg|Rainforest Ramblings Comic 19.jpg|Stuck in a Hut Comic 20.jpg|Escape from the Camp Comic 21.jpg|The Race Begins Comic 22.jpg|Romance on the Sea Comic 23.jpg|Sam's New Suit Comic 24.jpg|The New Henchmen Comic 25.jpg|Lance's Awkward Question Comic 26.jpg|Into the Jungle Comic 27.jpg|Jungle Discovery Comic 28.jpg|Steampunk Inventor External Links * Official Comics Page Category:2010 Category:Comics